| From | Autistic Self Advocacy Network <[email protected]> |
| Subject | 🦖April ASAN Newsletter 🦖 |
| Date | April 30, 2024 9:22 PM |
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[link removed] [[link removed]]
ASAN April Newsletter
a small toy dinosaur holding a cocktail umbrella [[link removed]]
Dear friend,
This month we celebrated our community — as well as our love of dinosaurs — and continued to fight for our rights. Check out what we've been working on this month and what work is still to come!
We were excited to begin Autism Acceptance Month seeing the White House celebrate World Autism Acceptance Day rather than World Autism Awareness Day [[link removed]] . The White House proclamation [[link removed]] calls upon Americans “to learn more about the experiences of autistic people from autistic people, and to build more welcoming and inclusive communities to support people with autism.” Acceptance is about creating a society where all autistic people can have the accommodations we need and be fully included. While we want people to know about autism, the connotation of “awareness” can imply something negative, or something to be worried about. Acceptance is an action, and we look forward to future actions to improve US policy for autistic people, like ending subminimum wage and expanding Medicaid home- and community-based services.
In honor of our Dinosaur Donors [[link removed]] , we had some prehistoric visitors this month and shared a few dino facts. We’ve enjoyed having the office dinosaurs around again this April, but they’ve found it’s a lot of work to run an office! We’re sad to say goodbye, but we had a great time celebrating Autism Acceptance Month with the Field Museum last week. We talked with Sue the T. Rex and their friends at the Field Museum about accessibility, autism acceptance, and of course dinosaurs! If you missed it, you can check out the recording here [[link removed]] .
This April, the government finalized a lot of federal rules that matter a lot to our community. Federal rules are made by the executive branch to make sure laws are followed. Some of these rules make it easier to get and keep Medicaid, SSI, and other benefits, or make sure that the services and supports that we get are good and will help us. Some of these rules also say what the government, hospitals, or other people need to do to respect our rights and not discriminate against us. There are more federal rules that are still coming out! There are a lot of rules we expect to be out very soon that will also be very important for our community. Here are some of the important rules that have been finalized or are currently being finalized this month [[link removed]] .
ASAN welcomes the Department of Justice’s updated voting guidance and its launch of justice.gov/voting [[link removed]] . The website hosts a number of resources that people with disabilities can use to learn more about our right to vote, understanding accessibility protections, and how to make a civil rights complaint. We would especially like to highlight and applaud the updated guide on The Americans with Disabilities Act and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities [[link removed]] . In this guide, the DOJ clarifies and newly states a number of protections people with disabilities have while voting because of the ADA. Here are some of the rules laid out in this guide:
* The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits states from “categorically disqualifying individuals who have intellectual or mental health disabilities” from voting solely because of their disability status or guardianship. States may not subject people with disabilities to a higher standard for demonstrating capacity than other voters.
* Voter registration must be accessible to people with disabilities.
* Absentee voting cannot be the only method of voting available to people with disabilities. There must be an accessible voting method available at all polling places.
* Service animals must be allowed in polling places.
* The right to assistance during the voting process includes the right to assistance from a person of the voter’s choice during all aspects of the voting process. “State laws that restrict people from providing assistance with voting, subject to criminal penalties, may chill assistors from aiding voters with disabilities and thus interfere with voters’ rights to assistance under the ADA.”
* Voters with disabilities have the right to accessible voting systems and effective communication.
Last month we launched our Teighlor McGee Grassroots Mini Grants program [[link removed]] , which was named after former ASAN staff member and activist, Teighlor McGee. The program includes two mini grants: Affiliates in Action Mini Grant and Self-advocates Transforming Equitable Policy (STEP) Mini Grant. Both these mini grant categories are for projects focused on creating change for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the local, state, and national levels. We want to fund specific projects from either self-advocacy groups or individual self-advocates! Earlier this month we held a webinar to talk about this exciting new program and answer questions about the application process, what projects ASAN wants to give money to, and important dates for this program — check it out here [[link removed]] .
Our community has been fighting to #StopTheShock for many years, and we have an opportunity to stop it now! The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a proposed rule that would ban the electric skin shock torture being used on some residents of the Judge Rotenberg Center. Right now, we need people to submit public comments to the FDA in favor of this rule. Anyone can submit a public comment! Even if you have never written a public comment before, our plain language toolkit [[link removed]] will tell you everything you need to know. We also held a webinar all about writing a public comment on this rule — check it out [[link removed]] . Once you have written your public comment, you can submit it here [[link removed]] . Make sure to submit your comment and help us #StopTheShock for good!
Thank you for continuing to fight alongside us to make our community better for all autistic people! We’re honored to advocate alongside all of you all year round.
Sincerely,
The Team at ASAN
The policy team has been hard at work this month! Check out some of the work they’ve been up to fighting for our community’s rights.
* ASAN joined an amicus brief in the case of Moyle v. United States , which involves the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
* We supported [[link removed]] S.2494 / H.R.4858, the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA), which would ensure that people with disabilities have access to the innovative communication and video programming technologies needed to participate equally in employment, education, recreation, civic, and other parts of society.
* We joined an amicus brief in the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson .
* ASAN signed onto a letter calling on Congress to support funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.
* We signed on to a letter asking Congress to provide the U.S. Census Bureau with $2 billion in FY 2025 and to oppose any proposals that would use the agency as an offset to fund other programs in the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill.
* ASAN opposed HR 7109, which would use census questions on citizenship and immigration status to exclude non-citizens from the apportionment base.
* As members of the National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA), we called for increased funding for the Model Systems program and the Model Systems Knowledge Translational Center (MSKTC), which provides the entirety of the rehabilitation process from emergency services at the time of an injury through a person’s return to full participation in the community for people with SCI, TBI and burn injury.
* We signed on to a letter seeking co-sponsors for the Inclusive Democracy Act, which seeks to end permanent felon disenfranchisement.
* Along with many other organizations, ASAN pushed for increased funding in the FY 2025 allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee to a level that ensures robust and sustained investments so that these programs can meet vital needs.
* We opposed attempts by lawmakers to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) finalized rule on credit card late fees.
* ASAN signed on to a letter urging the Biden administration not to delay release of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule, which tells HUD to make sure it actively works to break down overcome patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, eliminate disparities in opportunities, and foster inclusive communities free from discrimination.
* We signed on to a letter expressing concern over no inflationary increase to the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State grants program for FY24 and calling on Committees to not utilize the decreased funding level in the FY 2025 appropriations cycle.
* ASAN signed onto to an endorsement of a New York bill that, among other things, prohibit the use of AI-powered automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) that "violate anti-discrimination laws or that incorporate pseudoscientific techniques such as facial analysis, gait analysis, or emotion recognition".
<div align="center" class="button-container center " style="padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:10px;"><!--[if mso]><table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="border-spacing: 0; border-collapse: collapse; mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt;"><tr><td style="padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:10px;" align="center"><v:roundrect xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" href="autisticadvocacy.org/donate" style="height:33pt; v-text-anchor:middle; width:147pt;" arcsize="9%" strokecolor="#0068A5" fillcolor="#0068A5"><w:anchorlock/><v:textbox inset="0,0,0,0"><center style="color:#ffffff; font-family:Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:18px;"><![endif]--><a href="autisticadvocacy.org/donate" style="display: block;text-decoration: none;-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;text-align: center;color: #ffffff; background-color: #0068A5; border-radius: 4px; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; -moz-border-radius: 4px; max-width: 196px; width: 156px;width: auto; border-top: 0px solid transparent; border-right: 0px solid transparent; border-bottom: 0px solid transparent; border-left: 0px solid transparent; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 20px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif;mso-border-alt: none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:16px;line-height:32px;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 40px;" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 36px;"><strong>Support our work</strong></span></span> </a> <!--[if mso]></center></v:textbox></v:roundrect></td></tr></table><![endif]--></div>
[link removed] [[link removed]]
White House Embraces Autism Acceptance over Awareness [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Watch: Autism Acceptance Month with the Field Museum! [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Learn About Upcoming, Proposed, and Final Federal Rules [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
U.S. Department of Justice's New Voting Resource Website [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Webinar: Introducing the Teighlor McGee Grassroots Mini Grant Program [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Write a Public Comment to #StopTheShock [[link removed]]
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035
United States
If you think you received this email in error,
unsubscribe: [link removed]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
ASAN April Newsletter
a small toy dinosaur holding a cocktail umbrella [[link removed]]
Dear friend,
This month we celebrated our community — as well as our love of dinosaurs — and continued to fight for our rights. Check out what we've been working on this month and what work is still to come!
We were excited to begin Autism Acceptance Month seeing the White House celebrate World Autism Acceptance Day rather than World Autism Awareness Day [[link removed]] . The White House proclamation [[link removed]] calls upon Americans “to learn more about the experiences of autistic people from autistic people, and to build more welcoming and inclusive communities to support people with autism.” Acceptance is about creating a society where all autistic people can have the accommodations we need and be fully included. While we want people to know about autism, the connotation of “awareness” can imply something negative, or something to be worried about. Acceptance is an action, and we look forward to future actions to improve US policy for autistic people, like ending subminimum wage and expanding Medicaid home- and community-based services.
In honor of our Dinosaur Donors [[link removed]] , we had some prehistoric visitors this month and shared a few dino facts. We’ve enjoyed having the office dinosaurs around again this April, but they’ve found it’s a lot of work to run an office! We’re sad to say goodbye, but we had a great time celebrating Autism Acceptance Month with the Field Museum last week. We talked with Sue the T. Rex and their friends at the Field Museum about accessibility, autism acceptance, and of course dinosaurs! If you missed it, you can check out the recording here [[link removed]] .
This April, the government finalized a lot of federal rules that matter a lot to our community. Federal rules are made by the executive branch to make sure laws are followed. Some of these rules make it easier to get and keep Medicaid, SSI, and other benefits, or make sure that the services and supports that we get are good and will help us. Some of these rules also say what the government, hospitals, or other people need to do to respect our rights and not discriminate against us. There are more federal rules that are still coming out! There are a lot of rules we expect to be out very soon that will also be very important for our community. Here are some of the important rules that have been finalized or are currently being finalized this month [[link removed]] .
ASAN welcomes the Department of Justice’s updated voting guidance and its launch of justice.gov/voting [[link removed]] . The website hosts a number of resources that people with disabilities can use to learn more about our right to vote, understanding accessibility protections, and how to make a civil rights complaint. We would especially like to highlight and applaud the updated guide on The Americans with Disabilities Act and Other Federal Laws Protecting the Rights of Voters with Disabilities [[link removed]] . In this guide, the DOJ clarifies and newly states a number of protections people with disabilities have while voting because of the ADA. Here are some of the rules laid out in this guide:
* The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits states from “categorically disqualifying individuals who have intellectual or mental health disabilities” from voting solely because of their disability status or guardianship. States may not subject people with disabilities to a higher standard for demonstrating capacity than other voters.
* Voter registration must be accessible to people with disabilities.
* Absentee voting cannot be the only method of voting available to people with disabilities. There must be an accessible voting method available at all polling places.
* Service animals must be allowed in polling places.
* The right to assistance during the voting process includes the right to assistance from a person of the voter’s choice during all aspects of the voting process. “State laws that restrict people from providing assistance with voting, subject to criminal penalties, may chill assistors from aiding voters with disabilities and thus interfere with voters’ rights to assistance under the ADA.”
* Voters with disabilities have the right to accessible voting systems and effective communication.
Last month we launched our Teighlor McGee Grassroots Mini Grants program [[link removed]] , which was named after former ASAN staff member and activist, Teighlor McGee. The program includes two mini grants: Affiliates in Action Mini Grant and Self-advocates Transforming Equitable Policy (STEP) Mini Grant. Both these mini grant categories are for projects focused on creating change for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the local, state, and national levels. We want to fund specific projects from either self-advocacy groups or individual self-advocates! Earlier this month we held a webinar to talk about this exciting new program and answer questions about the application process, what projects ASAN wants to give money to, and important dates for this program — check it out here [[link removed]] .
Our community has been fighting to #StopTheShock for many years, and we have an opportunity to stop it now! The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a proposed rule that would ban the electric skin shock torture being used on some residents of the Judge Rotenberg Center. Right now, we need people to submit public comments to the FDA in favor of this rule. Anyone can submit a public comment! Even if you have never written a public comment before, our plain language toolkit [[link removed]] will tell you everything you need to know. We also held a webinar all about writing a public comment on this rule — check it out [[link removed]] . Once you have written your public comment, you can submit it here [[link removed]] . Make sure to submit your comment and help us #StopTheShock for good!
Thank you for continuing to fight alongside us to make our community better for all autistic people! We’re honored to advocate alongside all of you all year round.
Sincerely,
The Team at ASAN
The policy team has been hard at work this month! Check out some of the work they’ve been up to fighting for our community’s rights.
* ASAN joined an amicus brief in the case of Moyle v. United States , which involves the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act.
* We supported [[link removed]] S.2494 / H.R.4858, the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA), which would ensure that people with disabilities have access to the innovative communication and video programming technologies needed to participate equally in employment, education, recreation, civic, and other parts of society.
* We joined an amicus brief in the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson .
* ASAN signed onto a letter calling on Congress to support funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.
* We signed on to a letter asking Congress to provide the U.S. Census Bureau with $2 billion in FY 2025 and to oppose any proposals that would use the agency as an offset to fund other programs in the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill.
* ASAN opposed HR 7109, which would use census questions on citizenship and immigration status to exclude non-citizens from the apportionment base.
* As members of the National Disability Leadership Alliance (NDLA), we called for increased funding for the Model Systems program and the Model Systems Knowledge Translational Center (MSKTC), which provides the entirety of the rehabilitation process from emergency services at the time of an injury through a person’s return to full participation in the community for people with SCI, TBI and burn injury.
* We signed on to a letter seeking co-sponsors for the Inclusive Democracy Act, which seeks to end permanent felon disenfranchisement.
* Along with many other organizations, ASAN pushed for increased funding in the FY 2025 allocation for the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee to a level that ensures robust and sustained investments so that these programs can meet vital needs.
* We opposed attempts by lawmakers to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) finalized rule on credit card late fees.
* ASAN signed on to a letter urging the Biden administration not to delay release of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule, which tells HUD to make sure it actively works to break down overcome patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, eliminate disparities in opportunities, and foster inclusive communities free from discrimination.
* We signed on to a letter expressing concern over no inflationary increase to the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State grants program for FY24 and calling on Committees to not utilize the decreased funding level in the FY 2025 appropriations cycle.
* ASAN signed onto to an endorsement of a New York bill that, among other things, prohibit the use of AI-powered automated employment decision tools (AEDTs) that "violate anti-discrimination laws or that incorporate pseudoscientific techniques such as facial analysis, gait analysis, or emotion recognition".
<div align="center" class="button-container center " style="padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:10px;"><!--[if mso]><table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="border-spacing: 0; border-collapse: collapse; mso-table-lspace:0pt; mso-table-rspace:0pt;"><tr><td style="padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-top:10px; padding-bottom:10px;" align="center"><v:roundrect xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" href="autisticadvocacy.org/donate" style="height:33pt; v-text-anchor:middle; width:147pt;" arcsize="9%" strokecolor="#0068A5" fillcolor="#0068A5"><w:anchorlock/><v:textbox inset="0,0,0,0"><center style="color:#ffffff; font-family:Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:18px;"><![endif]--><a href="autisticadvocacy.org/donate" style="display: block;text-decoration: none;-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;text-align: center;color: #ffffff; background-color: #0068A5; border-radius: 4px; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; -moz-border-radius: 4px; max-width: 196px; width: 156px;width: auto; border-top: 0px solid transparent; border-right: 0px solid transparent; border-bottom: 0px solid transparent; border-left: 0px solid transparent; padding-top: 5px; padding-right: 20px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 20px; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif;mso-border-alt: none" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:16px;line-height:32px;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 40px;" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 36px;"><strong>Support our work</strong></span></span> </a> <!--[if mso]></center></v:textbox></v:roundrect></td></tr></table><![endif]--></div>
[link removed] [[link removed]]
White House Embraces Autism Acceptance over Awareness [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Watch: Autism Acceptance Month with the Field Museum! [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Learn About Upcoming, Proposed, and Final Federal Rules [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
U.S. Department of Justice's New Voting Resource Website [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Webinar: Introducing the Teighlor McGee Grassroots Mini Grant Program [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]]
Write a Public Comment to #StopTheShock [[link removed]]
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
PO Box 66122
Washington, DC 20035
United States
If you think you received this email in error,
unsubscribe: [link removed]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]]
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